The Five Hundred Thirty-Ninth Spell
Dead Eagle Valley, within the chambers of the Rahmann Royal Tomb.
In the dim and cold small tomb chamber, Doro, dressed in a robe, was sitting cross-legged in a corner. She slowly opened her eyes after completing a remote communication through the consultation channel, having obtained some key information regarding the soul shamans from Kapak and Uta in the New World.
“The Shaman’s Path, the Way of Soul Guidance, so this is the basic appearance of the extraordinary beings of the New World ‘Silence’…”
With her eyes open, Doro thought thoughtfully while stroking her chin. According to Uta, the Shaman’s Path, also known as the Way of Soul Guidance, was a remarkable path aimed at communicating, calming, guiding, and ferrying souls.
Extraordinary beings of the Way of Soul Guidance are the beacons of the Soul Path. Compared to other extraordinary beings of the ‘Silence’ paths, they possess a stronger attraction and control over souls, able to easily calm restless vengeful spirits and control large numbers of souls. They have the ability to ferry souls to the Underworld; other extraordinary beings of ‘Silence’ can only slowly summon souls, while they possess far more efficient spirit communication. They naturally have a strong affinity for special spirit bodies like the Wilderness Spirits, and their soul language is powerful enough to easily communicate with various spirits. They are the messengers guiding souls and are significantly stronger than others in controlling spirit bodies.
Most extraordinary beings of the Way of Soul Guidance are shamans from the indigenous tribes of the New World. These shamans lead one tribe after another, maintaining their traditions through a master-disciple relationship. All shamans together form a loose alliance that is much more relaxed than the White Stone Craftsmen Guild; it is so loose that there is no specific name among the shamans themselves. Only some extraordinary scholars who study the indigenous peoples of the New World have named this alliance Shamanism.
Although the shamans within this alliance have varying statuses, they do not subordinate to each other unless they are from the same tribe and only respect each other. There are no clear hierarchies among shamans; higher-ranking shamans cannot compel lower-ranking ones to do anything. The only governing body among shamans is a gathering called the “Wild Offering.” Every so often, shamans from various regions of the New World gather in their respective areas to hold ceremonies, paying homage to the powerful local Wilderness Spirits while discussing and making decisions that affect the development and survival of local tribes. This Wild Offering is held approximately every five years, while a larger gathering called the “Great Wild Offering” is held once every hundred years, where chosen shamans from each region come together, reflecting how loosely organized Shamanism is.
Although Shamanism is exceptionally loose, it adheres strictly to a unified ancient teaching, named the Way of the Spirit Road, which is said to be a teaching handed down by the Great Soul. This ancient teaching stipulates how shamans should use their abilities and shapes the traditions and taboos of Shamanism.
According to the ancient teachings, Shamanism believes that all souls are part of the Great Soul; therefore, all souls are sacred. Except for the Wilderness Spirits with special missions and their subordinate essences, any life should return to the Underworld after d*ath, returning to the Great Soul. Even for Wilderness Spirits and essences, when they become weary of their responsibilities or wish to find peace, they must accept the call of the Great Soul to depart, with the most qualified essence inheriting the position of the Wilderness Spirit.
Under the philosophical view of Shamanism, no soul other than Wilderness Spirits and essences should linger in the current world. Shamans have an obligation to guide them to the Underworld, and since souls are sacred, any act of exploiting extraordinary powers to control souls for personal gain is forbidden and a major taboo in Shamanism.
It can be said that Shamanism is an organization that honors the peace and burial of souls. Any undead or ghostly being is seen as an entity that should not exist, violating the normal path of souls and should be ferried away. Extraordinary beings that deliberately capture and create undead are considered evil people who should be eradicated.
Within this framework, almost all other extraordinary beings of ‘Silence’ on the Main Continent are seen as evil, particularly the Underworld Coffin Cult. They not only enslave and control souls but also create undead beings and extract essence from souls, acts deemed utterly unforgivable by Shamanism. Consequently, the Underworld Coffin Cult is referred to as Soul Defilers by the shamans, and with the recent intensification of colonial activities by countries on the Main Continent towards the New World, the Underworld Coffin’s interference with the abundant soul resources of the New World has become increasingly serious. Therefore, the shamans of the New World have developed a significant enmity against the Underworld Coffin Cult, resisting them while simultaneously being influenced by them.
Due to their lack of an organized structure, the shamans find themselves without means of counteraction against the influences of the Underworld Coffin Cult, leading to a significant number of shamans turning their backs on traditional teachings under the influence of the Cult in the last few decades, adopting its perspectives that souls should be used to their full potential.
These apostates of Shamanic teachings see themselves as the masters of souls, easily enslaving souls to create undead and even devouring souls using their control. Having lost their reverence for souls, they no longer interact respectfully with the Wilderness Spirits but directly subjugate and exploit them, turning the essences in the wild into their training materials. Their actions seriously deviate from traditional Shamanic doctrine, leading them to break away and declare themselves the Spirit Sorcery Church, which has essentially become a subordinate faction of the Underworld Coffin Cult.
In the Shamanic teachings, the titles of extraordinary beings of the Way of Soul Guidance, from Black Earth to Red Tier, are simple: shaman disciples, shamans, and great shamans. In the Secret World of the Main Continent, they are called Comforters, Spirit Summoners, and Spirit Masters. Kapak has recently officially become a shaman disciple during a ceremony, while Uta is recognized as a shaman, and it is evident that the one confronting Doro and the others is a great shaman.
Great shamans possess powerful control over souls, easily controlling numerous spirit bodies and banishing enemies’ spirits while being able to attract and devour souls. They can summon Wilderness Spirits and other special spirits without needing to set up magical arrays, using their spirituality to enhance the souls they control— the more powerful souls they command, the stronger their combat abilities. If extraordinary beings of the Guidance Path strengthen themselves by gathering souls, then extraordinary beings of the Way of Soul Guidance strengthen the souls they collect through themselves, their combat style resembling that of summoners. In Doro’s view, extraordinary beings of ‘Silence’ have certain similarities to Pokémon trainers.
As she sat against the wall, Doro pondered seriously about the information she had just obtained from Kapak, considering her strategy against the great shaman outside. The more she thought about it, the more formidable her opponent seemed.
“Those two Wilderness Spirits controlled by that great shaman exert both physical and spiritual suppression. The physical sand lizard is not only strong in attack but also controls the area, crucially protecting the shaman himself from physical threat… As of now, my means of threatening that shaman’s body, apart from the Tri-Stage Force, is only the electromagnetic cannon; however, the Tri-Stage Force poses the risk of collapsing the entire tomb. The problem with the electromagnetic cannon, though, is that while it can pierce through the sand lizard, I can’t be sure of where that guy’s actual body is located within it—his body is the keystone, and without hitting the keystone, merely piercing through the sand lizard serves no purpose.”
“Furthermore, more critically, he has a Wilderness Spirit that can greatly intimidate souls. Once that thing is called upon, there’s no defense against it. If we’re intimidated and our souls are drawn in, after staying here in this chamber for so long, that spirit chicken of his has to be ready by now. As soon as we go out, it will call, and there’s no way to hide from that…”
Rubbing her chin, Doro started to appear serious, considering her options while the nearby Nephnis looked on with concern, worried about whether Doro would come up with a suitable plan.
Amidst the silence, Doro began to turn her head, scanning the surroundings for inspiration. When she caught sight of the worried Nephnis not far away, a bold but very risky plan suddenly emerged in her mind.
“Hiss… it seems… this could work… But will the risks be too great? No, I need to consult again…”
With that thought, Doro closed her eyes once more, commencing a new round of consultation. After consulting both Uta and Satoriya, the two experienced extraordinary beings of ‘Silence,’ she obtained the answers she desired. When she opened her eyes again, a playful expression surfaced on her face as she gazed at Nephnis, who shivered under her gaze.
“Um… Miss Doro, have you thought of a countermeasure?”
Seeing Doro sizing her up, Nephnis couldn’t help but ask weakly, and Doro nodded in response.
“Yes… I have some ideas now. I believe as long as you cooperate well with me, Nephnis senior, we should be able to severely injure that guy in one fell swoop.”
“Ah… Do you have a plan now? That’s great, I will definitely cooperate! What exactly is your plan, Miss Doro?” Nephnis asked excitedly upon hearing that Doro now had a strategy, and Doro continued to respond.
“I’ll tell you the plan in a moment; first, I need to confirm some situations and make some preliminary arrangements.”
Saying this, Doro closed her eyes again and began to quietly pray.
“Great Akka… I wish to consult Mr. Gregor; may I ask where he is now? Does he have time? If he is still in Tivyán and available, I would like to have a real-time conversation with him.”
…
Outside the chamber of Rahmann Royal Tomb, at the altar before the long stone steps, Chabakunka sat cross-legged, meditating under the protection of two Wilderness Spirits.
After an unknown period of time with his eyes closed, Chabakunka opened them and glanced at the row of bronze lamps on the altar. Originally six burning lamps now had only one flickering flame remaining. Seeing that flame wavering in the air, seemingly about to extinguish at any moment, Chabakunka slowly stood up and gazed toward the steps ahead, the towering black stone door.
“The time has come…”
He softly murmured. Beside him, the lizard spirit stretched its body and let out a silent roar. With the lizard spirit’s action, the large amounts of sand scattered throughout the tomb began to stir. Under an invisible force’s control, the sand started to rise and rapidly gather towards Chabakunka, quickly enveloping him. As more and more sand collected, Chabakunka’s body grew larger, gradually morphing. Shortly after, a sand giant lizard measuring over ten meters in length appeared in the tomb space, with Chabakunka and his spirit body wrapped in thick layers of sand, hollow eyes gazing silently at the sealed stone door.
As time passed, the last of the bronze lamps extinguished in a flicker, and the stone door began to open slowly. The moment a gap appeared, a swift shadow shot out from within— it was the flying carpet-type extraordinary item he had seen before.
“Trying to run?”
Upon seeing the speeding flying carpet, Chabakunka immediately commanded the sand giant lizard to control the surrounding sand, raising massive sand snakes from the piled-up sand within the tomb and sending them towards the extraordinary item. In response, several small cylindrical objects flew from the flying carpet—clearly explosives bound with metal plates.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!!”
As the explosives exploded around the flying carpet, the approaching sand snakes were blown apart one by one. The flying carpet flew through the swirling dust and made its way toward the tomb’s exit, quickly approaching the exit.
“Chirp… shout…”
Facing the fleeing enemy, Chabakunka calmly ordered his Wilderness Spirit, and beside him, the bird-like Wilderness Spirit opened its mouth, releasing a soul-piercing screech. The piercing sound of the soul resonated throughout the entire tomb, causing the flying carpet’s occupants to sway unsteadily, slowly descending to land on the sand.
As the screech subsided, seeing the flying carpet fall to the distance, a slight smile crept onto Chabakunka’s lips. He then raised his voice using the language of souls.
“I am the beacon, your beacon, the beacon of the Soul Path. Souls, come to me…”
With Chabakunka’s words spreading forth, at the spot where the flying carpet had fallen, a gracefully shaped female spirit began to rise, floating towards him. During this process, she transformed into ethereal green soul flames. When she reached Chabakunka, he opened his mouth, devouring the ball of soul fire.
Having consumed a weary enemy’s soul, Chabakunka felt satisfied but also puzzled; he recalled two enemies but only one spirit was arriving. What of the other spirit?
Just as Chabakunka was confused, inside the tomb chamber, by the stone door’s edge, Doro was curled up in the corner formed by three walls of cold stone, covering her head and suppressing the murky consciousness, stifling the tremors of her soul. The fluctuations from Chabakunka’s soul screech were mostly absorbed by the cold stone surrounding Doro, protecting her soul from being entirely intimidated.
Doro had not flown out on the flying carpet; only Nephnis was aboard. Only Nephnis’s soul was intimidated by Chabakunka and subsequently absorbed. Doro wouldn’t ignore this.
“Hunter… it’s time!”
Using the information channel, Doro’s voice was transmitted directly to distant Prit.
At that moment, in the capital Tivyán of Prit, within a secret basement recently purchased by the Boyle Family, a golden bird staff stood tall. Beneath the staff was a recently drawn magical array depicting “Enlightenment” and “Lamp.” To the side stood two figures: the grave Butler Nunut of the Boyle Family and the focused young Hunter Gregor seated before the magical array.
Upon hearing the voice in his mind, Gregor immediately activated the magical array, consuming three storage items of “Lamp” and the spiritual energy of “Enlightenment” from the golden staff to complete several divinations in one breath. As the array activated, the brilliant glow of the golden staff began to dim slightly.
Meanwhile, Chabakunka, slowly turning his sand giant lizard’s head while puzzled about where the second spirit was, glanced toward the still ajar chamber door, just as he was about to check inside, the environment suddenly changed.
Whispers, dense and numerous, began to echo throughout the tomb space, spreading rapidly. Chabakunka suddenly felt as if there were people everywhere in the tomb softly speaking, quietly plotting, yet when he looked around, he saw nothing.
What is happening? What’s going on?
A greater confusion enveloped Chabakunka’s mind, accompanied by a deep sense of foreboding. Unbeknownst to him, the dimness of the tomb grew even darker, a cold chill filling the surroundings. An inexplicable fear surged within his heart, his instincts warning him that something was approaching.
“Who is it? Who’s there!”
Furrowing his brows, Chabakunka shouted into the silence with his soul language, but the only response was ominous sounds.
“Clap, clap, clap!”
In a series of eerie sounds, black handprints appeared on the walls and pillars of the tomb, gradually becoming more frequent as if they threatened to fill the entire space. Accompanying the emergence of these strange handprints was a hollow, raspy laughter that echoed within the tomb.
“Hey… hey… hey… hehehe… Boyle… Boyle… I never expected that you would dare to walk upon this land again…”
Amidst the rasping laughter, a skeletal visage, thin as a skeleton and nearly the size of the sand giant lizard, appeared out of nowhere, with ghostly green flames flickering in its eyes, fixated on the sand giant lizard and on Chabakunka within it.
“Ha, we meet again, little Boyle! Don’t think any barriers can protect you! You have nowhere to run on this land! Whatever you hide in is useless! Pay the price!”
